005: Spaniard's Inn

The Spaniard's Inn is a pub in the Hampstead area that is steeped in history. Built in the 16th century, the pub appeared in Charles Dickens' The Pickwick Papers and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Highwaymen are thought to have used the inn to watch the road for wealthy travellers going to or coming from London and Dick Turpin was apparently a regular. Joshua Reynolds, the artist, frequented the pub, as well as the poets Byron and Shelley. Some say that Keats wrote Ode to a Nightingale in the garden of the inn, while others claim it was written in the garden of Keat's House #011. The name 'Spaniard's' is thought to come from the Spanish Ambassador having lived in the building. Apart from the history, the pub has award-winning food and an extensive garden.